Posted on 07/29/2015 1:09:51 AM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
Cecil, a 13-year-old lion, wandered out of his sanctuary in a national park in Zimbabwe this month, following the scent of a potential snack.
At the other end of Cecil’s search was a lure, placed there by hunters who, conservationists say, wanted their prey to cross into unprotected territory so they could kill him.
Cecil, well known to those who visited the Hwange National Park in western Zimbabwe for his jet black mane, was beheaded, according to conservation officials. His corpse was left to rot in the sun.
Zimbabwean officials said that Dr. Walter J. Palmer, an American hunter known for killing big game with a bow and arrow, killed Cecil, and was being sought on poaching charges.
Johnny Rodrigues of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said Cecil was lured out of a protected game preserve one night in early July by a hunting party that tied a dead animal to a car.
The first shot, which the authorities say came from Dr. Palmer’s crossbow, was not enough to kill the lion. Cecil was tracked for nearly two days before Dr. Palmer killed him with a gun. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
From Lopover:
Is that why their on the endangered species list?
Marktwain replies:
African lions are not on the official endangered species list by the U.S. government.
If they were to be put on the list, endangered species lists are commonly political, not scientific.
The best way to preserve species is to make them economically viable. The most effective, proven way to do that is through legal trophy hunting. That makes their habitat economically viable. Habitat destruction is the big threat to species, not legal hunting.
BECAUSE THERE ARE PLENTY OF THREADS FOR THAT!!!
YES All caps.
None of us like abortion, but it DOSEN’T NEED TO BE BROUGHT UP IN EVERY THREAD!
“In 2009, Dr. Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota, paid $45,000 at an auction to help preserve an elk habitat in California.”
It sounds like he actually cares about animals. I’m wondering what PETA donated to save Elk habitat?
“I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt,” Dr. Palmer said. “I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt.”
Based on that statement he may or may not have still been collared. He sure didn’t known who “Cecil”(really?) was.
There have also been statements that he is being sought for poaching. Which, based on the facts he did not do.
He went on a guided hunt in Africa. He killed a lion. If the P.H. did something illegal, and that’s in dispute, then they will be fined. Destroying a man’s life for this is not even in the realm of reasonable.
I hope he dies after 40 hours of slow bleeding.
Hunting I see; letting an animal suffer makes one subhuman.
I agree!
I have mixed feelings about this. When you are on a guided hunt, you have to trust the guides to know the rules.
Luring animals out of national parks is considered poaching. I can sympathize with him if he did not know that rule. The guides should have known, but the lure of $50,000 blinded them.
Hunting animals, when you do not eat the meat is wasteful. That is where my sympathy for him diminishes.From what I have read, lion populations are decreasing. If there is a need to cull the herds, the government should be the legal body to sell the appropriate permits to shoot them in the parks.
When I went to S Africa, I thought that I would see them roaming free, but they all reside in the parks.These lions are park property. The hunters stole this lion. Whether this dentist knew that or not remains to be seen.
Congratulations, you’re a higher lifeform than some twerp who has to kill something to feel like a man.
If Cecil was a fetus would it generate this much outrage?
TRUTH!
I’m actually getting sick of the topic since the dentist is being targeted for death by the insane Brits on FB.
From what I read, no one knows how the collar was removed and apparently it was a bit of a beloved pal to tourists. Perhaps he was being fed by the researchers. My 21 year old cat has no teeth but she still wants to live.
So the poachers took off the collar? This lion sounds like a house pet.
From what I have read, the hunters took the collar off, and the lion was tame. How tame, who knows? I bet it is hard to really tame a lion.
The landowner is black, and I think, again from what I have read, he was responsible to obtain a permit to hunt on his land. He did not get the permit. I wonder if that was his land originally, or stolen from a white farmer?
You don't know what you are talking about. Have you ever had to track a wounded animal, not to mention a massive predator? Do you have any idea what that even means?
40 hours for it to die? Do YOU have any idea of what that even means?
40 hours?
It probably means that the lion's wound was marginally severe, that the lion went into deep brush (which all injured animals do), and that it is terrifically hard to track in such a condition, especially with the very real chance that the lion will retaliate. THAT they tracked it down and finished it was the right thing to do. That it took a while to do that shows quite a bit of character... Character that you would malign.
Lion hunting is dangerous. Anti-hunting types continually claim that it is not.
Then, when it actually turns out to *be* dangerous, as in tracking a massive, wounded cat in heavy cover, the anti-types complain about it taking “too long”.
They would complain even more if the hunters had *not* tracked down and killed the wounded lion.
It is not about logic, not about rationality. It is all about emotions of people who have been indoctrinated in the notion that animals are just superior people in fuzzy suits.
I feel for those people. Having to endure the negative emotions created by their indoctrination must be extremely painful.
I would correct that notion: ALL hunting is dangerous... Lion hunting is extremely dangerous. Lion hunting with a crossbow is incredibly dangerous. Hunting a wounded animal, especially a large predator, is insanely dangerous.
[...] It is all about emotions of people who have been indoctrinated [...]
I would agree... Or at least low information... Most I would reckon never hunted in their lives, and have not the first clue about what they are saying, or perhaps some have hunted coons down in the holler, or deer out in the hay field... Most, I'd bet, have never set foot in deep wilderness and don't have a clue about how it works. Most, I dare say have no idea what it takes to track an animal, not to mention a wounded animal... Not to mention a monstrous wounded predator in thick brush...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.